A list of some animals, plants and mushrooms included on the Red Book of the Perm region
Allochogna singoriensis - the Spider Southrussian tarantula
One of the largest spiders inhabiting Russia area. It reaches 25-35 mm, sometimes 40mm in size. It is brown or sometimes black on the top and covered thickly with hair. It can bite the skin through, the bite is venomous, may cause inflammation, but not lethal. The spider lives in deep vertical burrow plaited with web, at daytime stays in the burrow in expectation of catching the pray, at night time gets out to hunt on the surface near the entry. The female live 2-3 years. They attain to maturity at the age of one year. Males die at the end of summer after the coupling. The spiders block the entry into the burrow with ground for winter time. Next summer females lay 200-700 eggs in a white egg pouch in a hole. In a month young spiders come out from the pouch and hold on to the female which soon leaves the burrow in quest of water. Having given to drink to the young the female throw them off with hid legs in open humid places. The juveniles first hide in covertures and later start digging burrows making them deeper little by little, often forming new settlements. The spiders mainly feed on beetles and orthopterans. About 10 species of tarantula are known to inhabit southern Europe in desert, steppe and forest-steppe zones. They occur in Zauralye as well. The tarantula abundance in the Perm region is quite scarce, they inhabit just southern areas and typical biotopes in particular which are open, warm and have rare vegetation.
The Alopecosa kungurica spider
A spider is comparatively small, attains to 8-10mmin length. It has deep-brown cephalothorax, black flanks, biscuit lower part and deep-brown thighs appearing black on sides. Females are a little bigger than males. A spider was described in 1996 for the first time according to single meeting on limestone sediments combined with rare forest-steppe plants in the Kungur district. There is no data on its lifestyle. The spider inhabits soil and apparently hunts actively. It does not plait the web. Mature individuals just like the majority of spiders can be seen in June or July.
Caspian lamprey - Caspiomyzon wagneri
The trunk is eel-like without scales, azygomelous, skeleton is cartilaginous, there are no vertebras. The fish has small eyes and azygous nostril ahead of them. Respiratory system is represented with seven pairs of primitive branchial bags; their gill slits open separately to exterior. Popular name is “seven holes”. Mouth is like a round suctorial funnel. The tongue is transformed into drilling organ. There are cusps along the funnel edges and on the tongue. The Caspian lamprey is colored plain grey, it has two dorsal fins. The gut is well developed so that it can digest weeds. In contrast to other species of lamprey the Caspian lamprey is able not to parasitize. The adult individuals range from 37 to 55cm. in length and attain to 200 g. in weight. The fish is migratory, inhabits the Caspian sea and swims up to rivers to spawn. Earlier it occurred in the Vyatka, Chusovaya, Vishera Rivers, some individuals inhabited even the Moscow River. Now due to hydroelectric dams in the Volga River it swims up just to the Volgogradskaya hydroelectric power station, inhabits the Kura, Ural Rivers and others. It dies after spawning. Larvae are 40-130mm. in length. Their mouth is not round, teethless, eyes are hidden in jacket, gill slits are in groove, fins are poorly developed. They are called ammocoetes (sand diggers), they live in rivers for several years and gradually migrate down to sea. They have not been found in the Perm region for the late 50 years after a number of the Volga and Kama reservoirs were built. Many stories about lampreys habitation in Prikamye told by native people refer most likely to loaches meetings.
Beluga - Huso huso
Beluga is a large migratory sturgeon fish reaching the length of 6m. and the weight of 1-1.5 tons (possibly up to 2 tons) and attaining to an age of 60-100 years. The snout is abbreviated, blunt with four flattened tape-like barbles, the mouth is lower, large and crescentic. It inhabits the Caspian Sea and can be met in the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Azov. The predatory fish feeds on any small fish. Spawning occurs in spring in May. The fish grows very rapidly attaining to maturity at the age of 14-20 years. The black caviar equals 20% of the body weight total. Fecundity is up to 7-8 million eggs. Earlier it swam up the Kama River to Perm and above to the Visher River.
Currently the fish does not occur in the Perm region due to hydroelectric dams. The fish is propogated through artificial reproduction in addition to few natural spawning areas in the Volga, Ural, Emba, Kura, Terek Rivers and others.
Russian sturgeon - Acipenser guldenstadti
It has small lower mouth, the barbles are not fringed and do not reach the mouth. The body is covered with lines of smaller stellate bony plates between the dorsal and ventral rows. It reaches the length of 230cm. and the weight of 100kg, sometimes more. It attains to maturity at the age of 12-15 years, feeds on benthos: chironomids larvae, shells, amphipods and small fish. Lifespan is 35-40 years. It is a migratory fish. Spawning takes place at the core of a river in May-June, it buries larvae like all the sturgeon species. Earlier it was quite abundant in the Kama River basin (the Vyatka, Kama up to Bondyug, Chusovaya, Vishera Rivers). During the first year of life the growth is rapid (up to 30cm.), later the growth appears to be much slower – at the age of 10 years they are 110cm. long. Young fish stay in rivers until 3-4 years.
Now it does not occur in the Perm region, the mentionings of meeting a sturgeon refer either to large starlet or to the artificially reproduced individuals which have left fish-pond by accident.
A landlocked sturgeon has not been met in Prikamye, though there is some data on its habitation in the Middle Volga River.
Triangle Grape Fern - Botrichium lanceolatum
It occurs in subzones of middle and southern taiga at forest edges, mossy glades of forest, rocky slopes and dry meadows.
The plant reaches 5-20cm. in height. The frond sterile part is double pinnate, located higher the centre of the plant. The lacinias of the first order are lanceolate, acute, with an easily seen costa.
The main differences from the most allied species – Daisyleaf Grape Fern – are given above. The Triangle grape fern differs from other grape fern species growing in the Perm region either in the distance between the centre of the plant and the frond sterile part or in having a different section of a leaf.
It mainly occurs in the western part of the region in glades of forest, forest edges and dry meadows.
The plant reaches 10-20cm. in height. The frond sterile part is bipinnate, is located higher the centre of the plant. The lacinias of the first order are ovate, blunt with a hardly seen costa.
The main differences from the most allied species –Triangle Grape Fern – are given above. The daisyleaf grape fern differs from other grape fern species growing in the Perm region either in the distance between the centre of the plant and the frond sterile part or in having a different section of a leaf.
Flower-cup Fern - Woodsia alpine
It occupies the rocky (eastern) part, shady rocks clefts in the rocky forest zones.
The plant reaches 5-10cm. in height; the leaves make thick bunches. The leaves have brown footstalks. The footstalk is covered with many squamas, pinnas are covered with fuzz. After laminae fall the lower parts of footstalks form the so called brush at the plant base. The underdeveloped indusium is represented with long fuzz which surround the fruit dot of sporanges.
The Smooth Woodsia has stramineous footstalks and bare leaves, the Oblong Woodsia is remarkable for larger sizes (up to 25cm.) and pinnas covered with fuzz as well as squamas.
Dotted-stem Bolete - Boletus luridiformis
The species is found in southern areas of the region. It grows in mixed coniferous-broad-leaved forest in August. It is a mycorrhizal fungus.
The cap is 15cm. in diameter, pincushion type and velvet, of henna-red or olive-brown colour. The flesh is meaty, yellowish or brownish, changes into blue when pressed or sliced. The tubes are fine, yellow, the pores are deep red, stain blue when pressed. The pore powder is olive-brown. The stem is thickened at the foot, of yellow-red colour, covered with red dots or grained and squamate without fishnet pattern.
Lurid Bolete - Boletus luridus
Occurs in the Dobryansky and southern areas of the region. It grows in mixed coniferous-broad-leaved forest in August. It is a mycorrhizal fungus.
The cap is 15cm. in diameter, pincushion type, velvet, of olive or olive-brown colour. The flesh is meaty, yellowish or brownish, slightly changes into blue when pressed or sliced. The tubes are fine, yellow, olive-yellow, the pores are deep orange-purple, stain blue when pressed. The pore powder is of olive colour. The stem is thickened at the foot, patterned with deep dark red fishnet that distinguishes this species from the previous one.
Cornflower Bolete – Gyroporus cyanescens
Occurs in the Dobryansky and Krasnovishersky regions. Grows in birch forests, on sandy soils in August – September. It is a mycorrhizal fungus.
The cap is 10-15cm. in diameter, convex, velvet, of brownish-yellowish colour. The tube layer is fine-pored, first whitish and then of cream colour. The stem is thick, firm, then spongiose and fistular like russules’ ones, of yellowish-whitish colour with cream-brown squamas. Cap, stem and tubes almost immediately turn a cornflower blue when sliced. Hence comes the Russian name of the fungus – bruise. The pore powder is yellowish.
